


flight of senses

by fish_wifey



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Getting Together, Royal bodyguard/Prince, Royalty, Worldbuilding, tanakiyoweek2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25301785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fish_wifey/pseuds/fish_wifey
Summary: Kiyoko is a Pegasus-knight for whom duty and honour comes first. She takes her newly appointed job of bodyguard extremely serious. However, how do you protect the second heir to the royal throne, when that prince is a notorious troublemaker and brawler?Getting to know prince Ryuu, Kiyoko doesn’t know who needs protecting: the prince, or her own heart.
Relationships: Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. First bad impressions

**Author's Note:**

> So I really like the idea of knight Ryuu (including all of Karasuno as knights) and princess Kiyoko….and I might write a lil something for it one day? But I am a fire emblem stan first and a human second. So pega-knight Kiyoko and royal prince Ryuu who is also a brawler and a troubled second heir in line for the throne?????????? That’s so my gig.
> 
> I'll say beforehand that I have only a vague idea where I wanna go with it, and I have no idea how long/short the fic will be or when the next update will be~ Rating my change to M but I am not yet sure about that o:
> 
> Please enjoy uvu

Hoofs stamp the marble floor, softly at first. As Kiyoko walks forward through court, her feet lead her to the steps that go up to the royal thrones, the hoof stampede. Louder and louder, wings of any colour beating loudly. The pega-knights, the high elite defense force of the throne, say nothing to their Pegasi. They do not blink, they do not touch them. Their command is solely telepathic.

Next to Kiyoko, Siren-star becomes nervous. Kiyoko hasn’t mastered all the arts yet, and so she has to hold tightly to Siren-star’s reigns. The light grey Pegasus mare has her eyes forward at least, and the wings are folded neatly. It’s only the legs that seem to want to walk elsewhere.

Coming to the first step to the throne, Kiyoko bows, then takes to her knees. Beside her, Siren-star follows suit; she makes a graceful head bow first, then lowers herself. The room falls silent, with the hoofs’ sound dying out last through the echoes. Queen Tanaka comes forward with the ceremonial sword, a broadsword made of a marble handle the finest steel. The ceremony isn’t short, and Kiyoko’s knees are put to the test. She doesn’t have to say much, not until the end where she takes up her vows.

The third vows to the nation. Her first was to protect the people. The second, when she became a pega-knight, was to protect the land. The third and most important was to the throne, and in her case, to one particular person. Kiyoko’s eyes look around, to find him standing somewhere. It was custom to look one’s charge in the eye when vowing to protect their life. But she sees only his older sister, Saeko.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke, the only son to the throne, second heir to it…nowhere to be found. Kiyoko says her vows in his absence, guiding her eyes skyward instead. The pega-knights only prayed to one god, and it was the lady of the sky; Featherasia was whimsical and stormy, but she equally protected those who show will and heart.

Silently and under her breath, Kiyoko prays as the sword taps each of her shoulders. “Featherasia, please guide my heart forward.”

*

*

Saeko seems goodhearted about the absence of her brother. More surprisingly, she guides Kiyoko to his possible whereabouts. “I won’t give you all of his secrets. As his newly assigned royal bodyguard, I trust you to do your job yourself.”

Downing a beer, much to the dismay of her husband Aki, Saeko roars a laughter. Then whispers where Ryuunosuke might be at. Kiyoko wastes no time. She says her goodbyes to the queen and the princess, then to the head of the elite pega-knights, Michimiya. Afterwards it’s a matter of seconds to walk out Siren-star and take off.

The tip wasn’t a ruse at all. Kiyoko hears the fighting before she sees it. Keeping her mind cold and focused, she urges Siren-star on to land. Kiyoko takes up her spear mid-jump to the ground, and joins the fray prince Ryuunosuke finds himself. 3 to 1!? She cannot believe what she sees. It doesn’t stop her from bringing the back of her lance under an attacker’s legs. The second she knocks down with an elbow to the throat, and pins him to the dirt with the sharp side of her lance. She looks at Ryuunosuke.

He swung with his right arm, hook under the chin of the third attacker. That guy staggers back, the whites of his eyes overtaking the rest. Then he falls, and doesn’t move.

“Prince Ryuunosuke, are you hurt?” She asks, making sure her lance presses the second attacker down, and that the first doesn’t try anything. There’s blood running down Ryuunosuke’s temple alright. Spilling royal blood is a criminal offense, punishable by the decree of their lands. Kiyoko has hardly been inaugurated, and already has three criminals to take care of. Without backup—

“I’m fiiine…why did you interrupt my training session, knightess?” the prince says, taking a swig of a brown fluid. It tickles down his chin, down to his chest. Kiyoko blinks. There’s barely any cuts or bruises on him, but the torso is a starry night full of old scars and healed wounds. She rightens herself to full height, twirls her lance and pins the butt to the ground. She bows.

“Prince Ryuunosuke, my name is Shimizu Kiyoko. I am the newest addition to the elite fliers, and your assigned bodyguard.”

She notices him stepping closer, bringing one foot in front of the other with care and calculation. As if he would fight her, too. Kiyoko notices it a second too late, but makes up with her quick reaction. Swinging her body weight to the side, she ducks from an arm swing aimed at her. Her lance is up fast, to block a kick. Struggling to understand the why, she lets her body act without her mind interfering. With the three men lying about, she has to jump and watch her feet. Prince Ryuunosuke doesn’t pull a punch, and his aim never goes wide. He actively tries to hit her, every time.

Figuring he won’t stop unless she makes him to, Kiyoko switches gears. Defense to offence in the span of a second—an inhale, shoulders forward, her lance up, body low—her lance comes close but never touches the prince. She’s too careful still, even as she brings him against the wall.

Prince Ryuunosuke takes her lance, pulls the sharp end to his throat. He’s with his back to the wall, and yet nothing of him smells or looks submissive. Kiyoko’s eyes widen, as her lance is pushed deeper into his skin, drawing blood. Above it, Prince Ryuunosuke’s smile is lethal. Wide and manic. He laughs at her.

“Do I look like I need a bodyguard, pega-knight? I think I’m doing just fine without one.” He casts the blade to the side, then steps up into her space once more. This time, the tension shifts. His shoulders and arms are relaxed. Kiyoko stands more rigid than before, unsure what to make of this. Saying ‘your mother wants it so’ seems awfully stupid. Instead, she lets her silence calm her heart beat. She looks up to Prince Ryuunosuke’s eyes, those golden shiny things that belong to the royal house alone.

He looks her up and down once, the smile narrowing. He licks his lips, and Kiyoko wonders if this is another intimidation technique the prince learned outside the palace.

“You’re very pretty though…perhaps it’s not such a bad thing to have a bodyguard,” his eyes take a million years to shift from hers to over her shoulders. He points at her. “I am never getting on that thing though. I fell off a Pegasus once. Nearly broke a rib.”

Kiyoko doesn’t blink. “The first rule of Pegasus taming and flight; if you fall, you _always_ have to get back up on them. They don’t take kindly to weakness, and weak people get talked about in their ranks.”

Prince Ryuunosuke’s face shifts another time, to something icy. His smile never fades though. He brings his chest so close that the gloved fist around Kiyoko’s lance feels the press of it against her knuckles. Lowering his head down, she can truly pick up his scent; the want to fight, the alcohol on his breath as he exhales it through his nose. Sweat and dirt, and that immaculate essence of the royal baths. That sea-salt and peach… Kiyoko makes her eyes stay up staring into his, even when a minor part of her wants to look down. Not to cast her gaze away from Prince Ryuunosuke’s formidable intimidation’s tactics. The press of his chest is so inviting…

“Which part of me would you call weak again?” he says, his voice low and threatening. Kiyoko’s shoulders square up before answering. What Prince Ryuunosuke did in his free time were open secrets at court. The knights of any association wouldn’t talk about it or further the gossip; but they had ears nonetheless. His exploits with both sexes since he was 16, breaking his room when he turned 18, the continuous fights ever since he was 14, still going on when he was over 20. Kiyoko knows, perhaps not intimately or from seeing it for herself.

But what hadn’t been talked about…what hadn’t gone the rounds. Well, Ryuunosuke just offered her that gold nugget of information himself, moments ago.

“Your mentality. Perhaps not weak but…certainly unstable. If you like to practice 3 against 1, that can mean many things. But to be afraid to pick oneself up and try again, even once? Mental strength is the most important thing when getting up on a Pegasus. They know fear. They test it, every day. If you cannot put your mind over matter, falling and not being able to get up will haunt you in other aspects of your life,” Kiyoko finishes, feeling that this has been the most she’s talked in a year, in one breath.

Somehow, it does make Prince Ryuunosuke back off. He blinks as if slowly understanding what she’s talking about.  
“Oh, that does make a lot of sense! So that beast of yours knows I fell off once and didn’t get back up?”

Kiyoko doesn’t have to look back to know Siren-star’s thoughts. She nods. Her entire body jumps when Prince Ryuunosuke laughs out loud. His shoulders shake, and as Kiyoko allows herself to look, she watches his pecs jiggle a bit too. He crosses his arms over them, not having noticed.

“Very well then! If you can keep teaching me new things, perhaps a ‘bodyguard’ isn’t so bad. Follow me, knight Kiyoko. We’re walking to my second home.”

*

*

His second home was a bar. Everything the court couldn’t or wouldn’t teach him, Ryuunosuke has learned from her. The way of the people, what they needed. How to fight— honourably and dirty. To take a punch, give more than what he receives, and to be able to take more than most. The barkeeper was young and his best friend. His first brawl had been with Nishinoya Yuu.

It was also here that he overcame his hidden insecurities and the shyness no one knew about. Where he learned how to kiss, how to please someone else. What pleases him the most. He learned that his loudness could match others here, that his loudness wasn’t bad. Here, Ryuunosuke could be free. Free of the stiff court, his homeroom teachers, the way of the country. And what he learned here, he could help his mother with during meetings. Hence why he was allowed to come back here, even if he gathered bruises and cuts as much as knowledge.

It’s also the place where he likes to bring homeroom teachers, advisors, and any courtiers who think they have to follow him all day, all night. 5 minutes here and they’re scared off. One old geezer broke the record by 7 minutes; after a cake hit his long grey beard, that man was out. Ryuunosuke figures that if they care about him, they’d care about the _whole_ him. Not just the princely blood in his veins, the gold of his eyes, or how worthy he is as an heir or to be married off to other countries. His mother the queen had made sure that Saeko and he would grow up as independent people with heart, who were allowed so much more than within other royal families.

Naturally he has to bring Kiyoko here. New bodyguard. As if he needed one. He hadn’t needed one when he was 10 and fought off bullies who came after a princess from another country. Last he saw her, Kanoka was even taller than before. And gorgeous, too. Just not his type. Kiyoko on the other hand…she has an ethereal beauty, timeless and made to withstand the ages. She looks battle ready enough… Ryuunosuke hadn’t known she was chosen. If he’d known, he might have been present at the ceremony.

“Here it is,” Ryuunosuke says, walking through the open archway of the Big Catch. Kiyoko steps in more carefully, her feet always in his shadow. She takes this extremely seriously. Ryuunosuke wonders how long she will last inside of here.

“Ryuu!” Yuu calls out, jumping over his bar to greet him. “You look good! And woah,” Yuu says, eyes shifting to Kiyoko. Normally, weapons weren’t allowed, even if you were a knight loyal to the kingdom. Apart from peace-keeping, Yuu didn’t allow weapons in his bar. He doesn’t seem to mind, looking at Kiyoko. “Woah…you’re very pretty!”

Ryuunosuke watches as Yuu approaches Kiyoko. A part of his heart isn’t happy seeing it. And it appears that no part of Kiyoko agrees with it either. She uses the flat of her hand when Yuu tries to jump her.

“Citizen,” she says as calm as the ocean, as if she didn’t just whirlwind whip Yuu to the floor of his own bar. The way she looks down on him, like an insect. Ryuunosuke notices the irresistible flutters in his heart, that first undeniable feeling of a crush forming there. He wouldn’t mind her looking at him that way.

Yuu gets up as if nothing happened, and guides Ryuunosuke to the bar. He holds Ryuunosuke’s arm, whispering slowly. “Who is that dynamite woman!?”

Ryuunosuke snorts down at him. “You could have asked her yourself, you know. And not get slapped in the process? Anyway,” Ryuunosuke looks over his shoulder, and Kiyoko is right there, eyes peeled for trouble. She peers down at where Yuu holds his arm. “That’s Shimizu Kiyoko, Pegasus-knight. And eh, I guess my bodyguard, starting today.”

Yuu’s own light eyes, hinting at previous regents having stepped outside the palace for some fun, glinted up at him. He looks back at Kiyoko, as they arrive at the bar. With one side of his face red, he jumps over it and pours both of them mead. The third tankard he holds to his own chest. Kiyoko approaches the bar-stool, but stands right beside Ryuunosuke. Her lance thunks to the floor, line straight. She puts her gloved fist behind her lower back, and looks straight ahead. Ryuunosuke blinks, then points at the beer. She ignores him.

After he clinks glasses with Yuu and downs half the beer, then puts it down at the same time as his friend. He leans over his elbows, to whisper with Yuu.

“I don’t know what to do with her! The ‘babysitters’ I had as a child weren’t this stiff.”

Yuu laughs. The ‘babysitters’ of this realm tended to have lethal experiences and were either war heroes or accomplished spies. Knights weren’t assigned until the children were teens, but both Saeko and Ryuunosuke have notoriously botched their mother’s plans to have anyone babysit them after the age of 15.

“So, what happens now? Is she just gonna follow you everywhere and look as menacing as possible?”

Ryuunosuke chances a glance over his biceps, the lower half of his face hidden behind his arm. “Hell if I know…”

As if picking up a scent, Kiyoko turns her head. Her lance straightens up, it’s sharp point nearly picking someone’s eye out. Ryuunosuke is off the stool, noticing it was the other three brawlers from before. They carry one between them. Not about to put his hand on a woman unwanted, Ryuunosuke manoeuvres himself under the lance, to let his head come next to the blade.

“Prince Ryuunosuke, you should remain behind me,” Kiyoko whispers, her breath on his neck.

Ryuunosuke shakes his head. He has been taking care of himself for years. If he showed fear to his people, they would be frightened. If he shows strength to his people, they will feel strong themselves. Protected. He couldn’t let Kiyoko interfere with his business. And he was 5 the last time he hid behind a woman; and that was Saeko. He holds his hand out. The other man clasps it firmly.

“Tomorrow same time lad? Could ya leave the broad behind tho? She’s a mean one,” the man says, and all three of them glance to Kiyoko. Ryuunosuke laughs.

“Don’t worry! I will prove myself that I can take all of you on! Given that we were interrupted, enjoy a beer. My treat!” He watches the three of them bellow out in happiness, hoisting their third man up a stool and watching him slump over. Yuu brings out the tankards and hears what happened outside from them. When all is well, Ryuunosuke turns to Kiyoko.

The smile on his face vanishes momentarily when she isn’t there anymore. He looks around, then shrugs his shoulders. Lasted far less than he thought. She will probably be waiting outside for him. Ryuunosuke guesses based on past experiences, and makes his way back to where he sat before. He was kind of sad…somehow, he had hoped she’d loosen up. Stay.

Ryuunosuke barely gets his ass to sit down when from above, whiteness appears. He has his fist up, about to give more than anyone could take. But his arms are entrapped in the whiteness, and then his head pushes through a third opening. He blinks at Yuu, who blinks back, then laughs.

Kiyoko just pulled a shirt over him.

Ryuunosuke sighs. This would be a long day.


	2. ...and other troubles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for keeping everyone waiting TT I actually wrote a lot for in the meantime but then also had other things I wanted to write!
> 
> please enjoy .v.

Before she became a pega-knight, she hadn’t seen much of the royal family outside the palace. Training every day, working hard for what she wanted to achieve, Kiyoko hasn’t spent any time networking. Most knights didn’t; they let their skill and strength speak for them. To earn a place as a pega-knight, one needed so many things. First of all, the elite group of the Gale Storms didn’t accept just anyone who could fly or tame a pegasus. One had to overcome fears; not just their own, but also the hallowed animal’s. So much strength training and combat knowledge went into becoming a knight; to have aerial battles and master them? It took years.

Whatever training Kiyoko does and has accomplished, it appears that Prince Ryuunosuke has gone through thrice the amount. In a short amount of time, Kiyoko has gotten to know his body quite well. The way he moves and holds himself speaks confidence, oozing from every pore. And yet, he would be reserved and restrained when meeting elderly citizens of the realm, or young kids. In profile, he resembled a hawk. Kiyoko makes sure to always step in his shadow, and if the sun shifts, she’d be as close as she could. The people parted for her as well as him, creating a nice circle of protection.

Prince Ryuunosuke doesn’t think much of it, she assumes. He constantly rolls and flexes his muscles. The way back to the palace takes forever. Kiyoko wonders if this is part of his usual routine; to greet his people and listen to them every day like this. So up close and personal...a hazard. Kiyoko’s mind sharpens; the prince wasn’t making it easy for her, at all. Her eyes have to continuously check the premises, look up to roofs, check alleys. Manoeuvring Siren-star becomes easier when they get closer to the palace. 

Instead of walking the marble front steps leading up to the grand entrance, Prince Ryuunosuke side steps.

Disappears.

Kiyoko stands still at once, looking around, Siren-star bristles, not fond of magic tricks. There were no people around, and Kiyoko finds it hard to understand where the prince could have disappeared to. The walls on either side were high. Every brick around her seems seamlessly connected. There’s no hole, no oddity. Her heart falls, and she takes a few calming breaths. Kiyoko holds Siren-star’s birdles, and gets up onto her back. The Pegasus lifts her wings, unable to take flight in the narrow alley. Kiyoko checks behind her, then gallops Siren-star forwards.

From here, the stables were easily reached. Even as Kiyoko peels her eyes to make sure the prince wasn’t anywhere, a tiny fury claims hold of her heart. How did he lose her? And why?

*

*

Ryuunosuke rolls his neck, lets it crack. Then he stands up from his crouch. From behind the veil, he watches Kiyoko for a couple of minutes. When she gets up on her flying horse, Ryuunosuke moves quickly. He enters the tunnel systems deeper, tapping walls and focusing on markers to guide his way. He hasn’t used the tunnels in a couple of months. And yet, his mind remembers, his body moving through it flawlessly. He exits the tunnel by pushing his shaven head against a wooden trapdoor, raising it up. His hands clear away dust and rabble. 

Carefully, his eyes check the surroundings. The stench of the stables is strong, consisting of horses, their leavings, and hay. His body attunes to the surroundings, and he soon exits the tunnel completely. He pours hay over the trapdoor, pats a sleepy horse on its gentle head. He walks out of this particular stable in time to see Kiyoko and her Pegasus emerge.

Cleaning his hands in a nearby bucket full of water, he cleans off the grime and dust from below. Before Kiyoko sees him, he rounds the corner. Placing his shoulders against the stables, he crosses one leg over the other and closes his eyes. Keeping the grin off his face is the hardest part. He listens for the enclosing hoofs, then peeks an eye open in time to see Kiyoko’s surprised face look down on him.

“Took you long enough,” he says, knowing he’s maybe a bit harsh on the girl. She took her oaths, and earned her place in the eyes of his mother. And yet, Ryuunosuke didn’t want someone _assigned_ to take care of him.

Kiyoko’s form is unmoving. She peers down from her high spot, a sight Ryuunosuke doesn’t mind seeing. If she asks a question, he’d probably answer. Instead, she keeps her Pegasus stock-still. When it becomes a fact that Kiyoko won’t talk or inquire, Ryuunosuke pushes himself off the stable and continues his walk homebound. Somehow he feels disappointed.

Within the palace walls he’s greeted with bows and titles. He notices Saeko on the second storey. They exchange their sibling salute, two fingers to the brow, tapping towards each other. Saeko continues wherever she’s off to, and Ryuunosuke takes two steps up at a time without trouble. Behind him, Kiyoko has gotten off her horse, leading it carefully with her upwards. Feeling bad, Ryuunosuke takes a moment on top of the stairs, then looks at her. Waiting til she’s on eye-level—as much eye-level as her shorter height can give her.

Should he apologize for the disappearing act? She didn’t seem angry with him in the least. Ryuunosuke didn’t feel that emotion in his own heart. And yet, there was something.

“I’m inside the palace now. You can do whatever,” he says, then walks on to the corridor leading to the royal quarters. Behind him, the hoofs follow, going from carpeted flooring over to marble. He rolls his eyes, looking behind him. Kiyoko has her eyes on him. When he stops, so does she and her winged creature.

Entering his room, he leaves it open for her. But Kiyoko doesn’t follow inside. 

When he checks the crack he left open earlier, he notices that she and her Pegasus are standing sentry guard outside the door. It stays open as an invitation, until an advisor brings him a note from his sister and closes the door after they leave. Ryuunosuke grumbles, reading the note. Saeko congratulates him. He crumples the note, not needing to actually read the rest. And from having seen Kiyoko’s name on there, he doesn’t need his bodyguard to know it either.

He throws the note in a basket for waste. For all he hated to be guarded, Kiyoko was by far the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. Going to his mirror, Ryuunosuke looks at his side view. At his abs. He does a squat, looks at his flexing thigh muscles. He’d felt the need to be stronger than anyone else—and acquired a body that definitely promised it. 

Rolling his neck, he walks over to his bed. He looks at the wide space, the perfectly placed pillows, the smooth blankets. He makes quick work of it; the pillows fall off the side, the blankets he doesn’t need end up half-falling off a corner. Snarling, Ryuunosuke undoes the bedding, makes it look crumpled and slept in. Unmade. He glances at the mirror; he’s carved his name into the wooden frame, broken the image with his fist. But every impurity would be gone by morning; or whenever a servant saw it and helped replace it. Ryuunosuke could keep his room immaculate if he wanted to. If he needed a clean desk space, he’d clear it. But if he wanted it messy, to look cozy...sometimes the servants would just clean it up again.

Sighing, he goes around the room. He cozies it up the best he can. Finds a book and stands by the window, reading his favourite parts. Deciding that he in fact wants to read, he takes some of the larger pillows he threw off the bed, and places them on a plush carpet in the corner of the room. Deciding to fuck with his new bodyguard, and since he wants tea and fruits when he’s reading, Ryuunosuke gets up before even settling with his book. It’s a quick operation; use a rope to get out the window and into the courtyard below. Sneak into the kitchen for tea and fruits. The latter are travel-safe within a jute sack slung around his shoulder. The tea, steaming in an iron-tight closed mug, poses no threat of spillage. Ryuunosuke is back up in his room untroubled and safe, hiding the rope and settles down with his treasures.

And yet no matter how he sits himself down with the book, he can’t concentrate. His mind whirls. Sipping his tea from the travel mug, he attempts time and time again to re-read the page of his book. He eats the fruit, savouring their juicy sweetness. Washing his hands in a basin, Ryuunosuke rolls his shoulders back, squares them up, then goes to his door.

Kiyoko stands there where he’d last seen her. All regal and pretty. Her winged horse has laid down, more sensible. It neighs softly, nose releasing a deep noise when noticing someone else.

“Just so you know, I jumped out of the window and got some tea and fruit from the kitchen. You’re doing a bang up job at being a guard,” Ryuunosuke grins, folding his arms over his chest. He leans against the doorframe. A cold chill runs over his spine and quite elsewhere when Kiyoko gives him a withering glance.

“Please excuse my expression but...that’s nonsense. You could not get down into the courtyard; it’s a drop of over 6 meters. And how would you have gotten the tea up again?”

Ryuunosuke’s confident grin never fades. “The wyvern and pegasi knights...they have these specially designed travel mugs, do they not? A lid that closes so perfectly and snug that it doesn’t allow spillage. Just unscrew it, and you have very hot tea, even after flying for hours through cold weather. They were mass produced and stored in all the kitchens.”

At this Kiyoko’s eyes widen. She passes by him, soon finding his reading nook. Siren-star has gotten up, and her lumbering frame presses disrespectfully against Ryuunosuke’s form as she tries to follow her knight. 

“Easy, girl,” Ryuunosuke says, having to look less nonchalant as he stumbles into his own room. He rightens himself before Kiyoko turns. “Ahem. An elite flier you might be. But you’ve got a lot to learn before you can call yourself an elite bodyguard.” 

There’s layers to the withering stare. Colder levels, reaching sub-zero.

“Very well then, Prince Ryuunosuke. I believe it is now my duty to not leave you out of my sight.”

Ryuunosuke bellows a laugh. “I am sorry, do you want me to build a stable for your beast as well?”

Kiyoko raises an eyebrow. “If you’re so inclined to test me, it must be expected of my person to be with you, always.”

Feeling his upper lip tremble upwards, half smiling, half snarling, Ryuunosuke crosses his arms over his chest again. This knight was getting herself into more trouble than she’s ready for. Ryuunosuke steps forward in a light thread. Kiyoko turns to him a little. He notices her knees softening, her shoulders relaxing. She knew he was a fighter, and was readying herself for it. Ryuunosuke was a brawler, but he wouldn’t just start fights like that!

Instead he comes close enough to see the light blue and green specks in her otherwise dark blue eyes. Her black pupils, seedy and calm, were fixed on him.

His grin widens. “You’ll keep an eye on me when I bathe too?”

“If I must,” Kiyoko says without hesitation. Her voice brings that same cold tremble down his spine, ending in quite a different place at the bottom.

“Fine. We will get your stuff and extra bed here then.”

*

*

They were in fact not allowed to keep the Pegasus within Ryuunosuke’s room. And as much as the challenge had raised the hairs on Kiyoko’s neck, she was happy when in fact she wouldn’t be roomed with the prince. 

So the next morning she gets up, and goes through her pre-sunrise routine. Siren-star gets looked after, and Kiyoko takes her up to a flight as the sun rises. The cold air clears Kiyoko’s mind, readying herself for the day. It’s her meditation, her peace-finding. Becoming balanced before the hustle and bustle of the day would get to her.

And she’s so sure that there will be a lot of hustle and bustle. There wasn’t a quiet moment with the prince, who somehow was still not accepting of her as a guard. Kiyoko flies Siren-star over the courtyard under his rooms. There’s three windows from his side, and all curtains are closed. It brings a smile to Kiyoko’s face, who fancies herself an excellent early riser.

For once, she’d be the one surprising the prince. 

Flying her pegasus down a spiral and letting her eat apples from the kitchen, Kiyoko knows she can’t climb up without a tool. So she goes the normal-person route; through the kitchen, up the stairs. She walks in the hallway from the other side than where they’d walked through yesterday. But when she comes close to Prince Ryuunosuke’s door, there is already a cleaning staff setting up. They mumble about his bed, and having to remember how many pillows they placed there. Kiyoko peaks in, and one of the male-maids tells her that the prince has already left for the training grounds.

Over an hour ago. 

Kiyoko doesn’t exactly run back, but her step isn’t slow either. She lets Siren-star finish her final apple, rejecting breakfast from the kind kitchen staff herself. Kiyoko ‘Hiyah!’s Siren-star into a steep upward flight.

She finds the prince practicing his sword swing. It’s a sequence Kiyoko has seen before. There was only one woman in the Gale Force who carried a broadsword, and her footwork, her strength...it was a sight to behold. In comparison, the prince looks less elegant, more forceful. He grunts deeply, but when he turns around—his eyes have that same focused quality. 

He looks right at Kiyoko. And yet those eyes are unseeing of anything else. He swings his sword upwards in an arc, brings it around and slices through the air, shifting it. Prince Ryuunosuke clearly commands the sword; it never overpowers him, drives his body forward, or makes him lose his footing.

“Are you just gonna stand there and stare, or are you going to be any sort of useful?” A voice that isn’t Ryuunosuke’s calls to her. Kiyoko blinks. Her eyes are cast to her left side. A rugged blond man steps forward, his hair pulled back. There’s patches of black hair near his ears. His eyes are ruthless, almost cold. Then the man throws a second swordbroad at her. 

Kiyoko catches it with two hands, while a surprised Siren-star flaps her wings and neighs at the perceived objectile.

“Gah, horses!” The man groans. Kiyoko wonders who he is; she’s never seen this man on the grounds, nor in the palace. And all instructors were known to the Gale Force. They trained them. Only the best could help the best be better. “Don’t like ‘em. Make sure that wing-y one won’t shit all over my grounds.”

Too struck by this to answer, Kiyoko looks back at the prince. He holds his own sword with one hand, the sharp edge stupidly close to his neck as the broad side lies on his shoulder. Grinning, Prince Ryuunosuke looks as smug as yesterday.

“Do you do any of the talking, my lass? Or will you continue the staring and standing. Mind, whoever puts their feet on _my_ grounds should be prepared to train hard, fight harder, and perhaps bleed,” the man says, the flat of his palm coming down hard on the prince’s shaved head as he passes him. “Isn’t that right, Tanaka?”

Grinning less, rubbing his head with a free hand, Prince Ryuunosuke answers. 

“Too correct,” he answers. Siren-star stomps her front hoofs, and Kiyoko turns to shoo her into ease. 

“That one won’t have to do anything but stay as far away from me as possible,” the blond man says, as he picks up a bag of stones from the other side of the grounds. He places them in a circle, going behind Ryuunosuke, and coming closer to Kiyoko. “Now, step forward! Into the circle! No jabs, no tripping, nothing below the belt. And no cries for help! If you want to lose, step outside the circle. Go away, bird-horse!” 

The man bellows Siren-star out of the way, to keep placing the stones. The last straw Kiyoko can take.

“Pegasi are revered beings, and you will call mine by her name; Siren-star. Now, if you’d have the decency to introduce yourself, or I will take this blade up with you,” Kiyoko says. It’s uncommon of her to challenge authority. This man was clearly older than she is, but certainly less than 10 years. And if this was another one of Prince Ryuunosuke’s ‘friends’, then Kiyoko outranks him. No one would yell at her Pegasus.

The man blanches, blinks, then laughs. 

“You were not kidding, Tanaka!”

The prince laughs too, then gets into a ready stance. “Told ya, she’s something special.”

Ignoring Prince Ryuunosuke’s words—filing them away for later inspection and understanding—Kiyoko focuses her attention to the man passing her by and putting down stones in a circle. She’s ready to trip this man with the broad side of her sword, but then he turns to her with his hands on his hips.

“The name’s Ukai Keishin. Ah, so you don’t know who I am, but the name Ukai rings a bell, yes?” The man says more amicably now, and Kiyoko is too struck to answer or even nod. _Every_ child in this realm and beyond knew of Ukai “Black Wing” Ikkei. 

As his grandson starts to rant about his grandfather, Kiyoko thinks back to all the stories she’s heard; of how Black Wing led the charge of winged riders into the last war. A mission that could have cost their lives, but the wyvern and their riders flew by night and came from the dark clouds giving them coverage. A brutal maneuver that gave the troops an advantage, and hailed Ukai as a hero of war and strategy.

“His wyvern bit me, and used the tail too many times to trip me over. Best practice partner one could imagine, but alas...I’m not too fond of winged creatures. I always expect a wing to break my back. Anyway! You were assigned Tanaka’s bodyguard, and we’ll just have to take it. But! If you come here on the grounds, I do expect you to train with him.”

Training to be strong is what Kiyoko has done every day. Today was no different, even if she would spar against the prince, her charge. Making sure that ‘underestimation’ will not be a habit, Kiyoko holds nothing back. Prince Ryuunosuke’s golden eyes widen, but soon he laughs and smiles, sometimes through gritted teeth, blowing out air through his nose and mouth. Every so often they’re locked into place, with neither giving an inch to the other. Kiyoko finds herself looking for weak spots; below the belt moves that would have the prince’s knees hurting, or his pride dented. 

But Kiyoko has weak spots too; tells that give the prince an upper hand. He quickly figures them out and aims to dismantle Kiyoko’s stability. Kiyoko backs off, only to attack harder and harder. Sweat runs down her neck now, and she feels her arm swing that much harder. She might have weaknesses, but she is not weak. And she will die before anyone will see her vulnerable.

Ukai, who has been circling the stones, mocks her when she brings her sword down with a loud ‘Hyah!’ followed by a louder clang. “You’re trying too hard!”

Kiyoko huffs, going into an attack stance while watching what Ryuunosuke might try. The prince twirls his sword up and down, making the sand below part with the shift of air. He tilts his head back, sharp teeth on full display. He doesn’t seem the least bit tired or even worked up.

‘“That all you got, knightess?” he asks

Her blades speaks for her; the continuous clang of sharp metals, each movement swift but not powerful enough to have the prince’s hand lose his weapon. Once again she thinks how easy it would be to charge head on, get his center of gravity to move, and trip him down. But the rules are as Ukai said them, and Kiyoko manages to use her momentum differently. She brings her sword to swing low towards Prince Ryuunosuke’s shins. He backs up, his center of gravity moving up—just as predicted. 

Kiyoko comes to his side, her eyes forward. She doesn’t have to see her elbow, as she quickly brings it down the prince’s neck. She looks back, watching as the prince falls sideways, then turns—he lands on his hands and ass. Quicker than lightning, Kiyoko’s blade point tilts under his chin, barely touching his throat. All her training couldn’t prepare her from wanting this; to step closer, make Ryuunosuke lie down fully on his back and surrender. The rush of that want takes her breath, and she shuts her lips, tries to slow down her breathing with inhales. 

Her heartbeat calms down none—not when Prince Ryuunosuke’s eyes glow golden and pretty. His grin slowly widening to expose those sharp teeth again. His brows furrow, as if instead of a sword at his throat, he’s having a milder problem to deal with.

“I think I am in love. You’re the prettiest being I have ever laid my eyes on. And strong too,” the prince says, and Kiyoko huffs, backing off. Her hair sticks to her cheeks, her forehead. She feels herself blush from the exercise. Only the exercise…

“Excuse you, why are we stopping?” Ukai bellows, but Kiyoko wouldn’t mind a break. Now that she isn’t moving her body on automatic, her mind releases the shambles of thought now rummaging. It’s been a couple of years now that people called her pretty, and other nice words. And while Kiyoko knows she’s capable and strong, it’s not the first thing people compliment her for.

Prince Ryuunosuke quickly covers for them both, waving at an impatient Ukai.

“I just said I surrendered!” he says gallantly, waving and smiling. He gets up with ease. “I’m all warmed up now.”

*

*

Ryuunosuke makes it a habit to actively wait for Kiyoko. He gives her his schedule, something he never kept track of before but became a habit other people set their clocks to. A new habit is that he will tell Kiyoko every day how gorgeous she looks. 

His bodyguard ignores him, every time. She sometimes stares him down—those days he wants to fling himself into a cold lake. Sometimes she peers to the side, and he feels a shudder of pleasure roll down his spine, if somewhat more muted and less troublesome. Ryuunosuke runs away less and less, suddenly feeling blessed by the gods for having been assigned a bodyguard. A person he didn’t want to run away from, but run into. 

It’s problematic however. Ryuunosuke hates being privileged. He hates seeing people do what they do just because he’s a prince. He almost feels like a fraud; while he can’t change that Kiyoko has to be with him at all times, it also doesn’t feel right. After years and years of not thinking of it, Ryuunosuke wonders. Would Kiyoko ever have given a shit about him if he wasn’t a prince? If she wasn’t charged with protecting him?

In any case, there’s no way he’d use his position to get anything out of her. And as far as Ryuunosuke is concerned, Kiyoko doesn’t want much from him either. He’s just her job. Just a prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any datekou fans??? next chapter will be f u n !


End file.
